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ObamaCare’s Death Knell

Late yesterday, the Administration announced that has decided to unilaterally (and by the way, illegally) postpone enforcement of the employer mandate for a full year, until 2015.

That announcement was the moment when the president’s health care law died. Or rather, its heart stopped beating. It may linger on for a while, perhaps even for years -- but its demise is now unavoidable. For two reasons.

First, the delay has pierced the law’s aura of inevitability, which was its only real strength.

Before yesterday afternoon, we could assume that the law will take full effect on January 1, 2014. But after this announcement, how can we be sure? They seem to think they can arbitrarily (and even illegally) suspend inconvenient parts of the law, any time they want. What's to stop them from "suspending" other parts?

The delay is called "temporary," but it will almost certainly become permanent. This is Washington, after all. What makes a law that's un-administrable after three years of preparation administrable after four? Why wouldn’t today’s policy arguments for a reprieve still be valid a year hence? Why should we expect the same corporations who've complained about this mandate from day one to suddenly acquiesce in it?

Second, the delay has stripped from the law whatever legitimacy it may have had.

Until yesterday, people could assume that, no matter what else you may think of ObamaCare, it at least applies to all of us and will be enforced fairly and evenhandedly. That sense of fairness just went poof!

President Obama’s HHS has granted more than 1,200 ObamaCare waivers to his party’s friends and cronies. His IRS has been caught selectively enforcing the tax laws to thwart or punish his perceived political opponents. And, as we learned from Politico a few weeks back, his Office of Personnel Management is now considering granting special relief from ObamaCare’s burdens to Members of Congress and their staffs.

Ahem. Where’sour waiver?

Can ObamaCare survive this latest mishap? I don't see how it can. A law enforced so arbitrarily and selectively, by an Administration so apparently unprincipled and politically brazen, is not long for this world.

For five straight years now, pollsters have consistently reported that more than half of the U.S. population opposes or feels very uncomfortable with the law. According to the Kaiser monthly health care tracking poll, support for it among Democrats dropped more than 15 percentage points in the months immediately following last year's election. Given the drumbeat of daily "train wreck" and "exploding cost" stories since then (including yesterday's announcement), it's hard to see support going anywhere but down.

Perhaps the Administration can move the numbers a bit with its planned $500 million advertising campaign. But what does it say about the benefits of this new program that they have to spend half a billion dollars exhorting us to sign up for it? And what does it say about the downsides of this new program that they feel compelled to illegally delay it until after the next election?

ObamaCare is flat-lining.

Do not resuscitate.

Dean Clancy is vice president for public policy at FreedomWorks, a grassroots service center to a community of more than 6 million activists who believe in individual liberty and constitutionally limited government. Follow him on Twitter: @DeanClancy.

I believe it is the apathy that has gradually developed among Americans that has given rise to Mr. Obama's agenda. I have watched the steady increase in able-bodied citizens of all ages who can justify and rationalize that it is acceptable to let the Government take charge of their lives through Medicaid and SS Disability. The increase in numbers of those applying for and being granted Disability when they are fully able to work is staggering. When I have turned these individuals down because they have no just cause, their Social Security case worker just sends them names of other specialists that will sign the forms.

Sadly, the system will go broke and those who truly qualify and need services will suffer the most. Keep up your efforts to challenge POTUS and the Senators and our Congress who are not often brave enough to challenge what is going on in our Society, or don't care as long as they get the perks of their jobs.

Scroll down to see signers lists.The Continuing Resolution (CR) that allows funding for the federal government expires on September 30th and must be renewed in order for the doors to stay open in Washington. The CR is the best chance we will get to withdraw funds from ObamaCare. This can be done by attaching bills by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) or Congressman Tom Graves (R-GA) to the CR, which will totally defund ObamaCare.

Today on the FreedomCast, Dean Clancy joins me to discuss the debate between defunding and delaying ObamaCare, the latest delay in the health care law that leaves consumers to pick up an even bigger tab and how the Left doesn’t seem to mind what we do as long as it’s mandatory.

Capitol Hill Update, 7-29-2013House& Senate/Schedule: Both chambers are in session this week, after which both will leave town for five weeks for the annual August recess. The session will resume on September 9th.

FreedomWorks has signed the following coalition letter in support of defunding ObamaCare:Dear Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Cantor,We the undersigned organizations and individuals urge House Republicans to include language fully defunding Obamacare when they consider their upcoming legislation to fund the government for Fiscal Year 2014.

Karl Rove has a piece at FoxNews titled "Republicans must resist game of chicken with president over ObamaCare." In it, the establishment's favorite political guru dispenses bad advice to grassroots conservatives, based on the assumption that defunding the health care law on a spending bill "won't work." He's wrong about that.

As one of our millions of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your Members of Congress – your congressman and both senators – and ask them to sign the Lee and Meadows letters to affirm that they will not vote for any government spending bill that includes continued funding for ObamaCare.

A crack has opened in the ObamaCare dike.
In a stunning setback for the controversial health care law's supporters, 22 House Democrats yesterday joined 227 Republicans to delay its linchpin provision, the individual mandate.
In so doing, they revealed the law's Achilles heel.
Senate Republicans should capitalize on this breakthrough by forcing a vote on the mandate delay as soon as possible.

Dear FreedomWorks member,As one of our millions of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your Members of Congress and urge them to support the Defund ObamaCare Act, which has been jointly introduced as S. 1292 by Senator Ted Cruz (TX) and as H.R. 2682 by Congressman Tom Graves (GA).